Because you won't have issues with lead paint and asbestos as both of those products weren't really used in residential applications after about 1978.

Since several banks already declined you then your dilemma is not the appearance of your lawn nor is it in regards to the lack of small improvements.

There are some products out there which sit in the middle such as 5-10% down payment conventional loans which have PMI until you reach 20% LTV, and then PMI can go away.

This is a great forum with very knowledgeable members that will help to guide you in the right direction.I really like the alerts feature that can quickly guide you to current topics that may be of interest: http://www.biggerpockets.com/alertsThere are some pretty nice discounts on many products and services offered as Perks to BP members that you might want to check out: https://www.biggerpockets.com/perks/pro

Walmart, on the other hand, has a beta of 0.48, which also makes sense because even in a downturn people are going to continue to need groceries, and since Walmart has cheap products, people will continue shopping there, which means Walmart won't experience as severe of a downturn as the average company.If you apply that to a real estate market, I would think that cities with high tourism have high multifamily betas (maybe Nashville as an example).

Trying to locate local meet ups or groups can also be very productive. 

Engaging critical thinking skills while doing an comparative analysis of like products and organizations.

If you buy in a location where prices and rents are increasing below the inflation rate, the amount of goods you can buy will decline over time.Population Size - Greater than 1 million.

This is a great forum with very knowledgeable members that will help to guide you in the right direction.There are some pretty cool discounts on various products and services offered as Perks to BP members that you might want to check out: https://www.biggerpockets.com/perks/proIf you haven’t checked it out already, the Bigger Pockets blog features links to their awesome podcast and many great articles: https://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/

How many loan products have you looked at for this?